A New York father was sentenced Friday to a minimum of 25 years and a maximum of life in prison for firing a crossbow at his wife while she held their 3-week-old daughter in 2023—a brutal attack that injured the mother and killed the infant.
Patrick Proefriedt, 28, of Nineveh, initially pleaded not guilty but changed his plea to guilty in March, Broome County District Attorney F. Paul Battisti confirmed. Judge Joseph Cawley handed down the sentence for second-degree murder in the death of baby Eleanor and attempted murder of Proefriedt’s wife, Megan Carey.
“I’m appreciative of Judge Cawley handing down the maximum sentence,” said Broome County Sheriff Frederick Akshar II. “But in a case like this, 25 years doesn’t seem appropriate. A pine box seems appropriate to me.”
The horrific incident unfolded on June 26, 2023, when authorities received a report that a woman and infant had been shot with a crossbow at a Colesville home around 5:15 a.m. Investigators said Proefriedt had argued with Carey before firing the bolt, which struck their daughter in the upper torso, exited near her armpit, and then hit Carey in the chest, according to WCAX
Proefriedt allegedly tried to remove the bolt before preventing his wife from calling 911, then fled in a red 2016 Dodge Ram truck. Deputies attempted life-saving measures on the infant, but she was pronounced dead at the scene. Carey was treated at UHS Wilson Medical Center and released with non-life-threatening injuries. Officers later found Proefriedt less than a mile from the home, his truck stuck in mud.
During Friday’s sentencing, Carey delivered an emotional statement. “Despite everything that has happened, I still believe in love, I still believe in healing, I believe in forgiveness, but he is beyond forgiveness,” she said. “He has no empathy and no humanity.”
The case shocked the community, with prosecutors emphasizing the deliberate nature of the attack. Proefriedt’s sentencing closes a grim chapter, though the scars for Carey and grieving loved ones remain.
Under New York law, Proefriedt will be eligible for parole after serving 25 years, though the judge’s life-term maximum leaves his ultimate fate uncertain. The tragedy serves as another grim reminder of domestic violence’s devastating consequences.